Yesterday we brought you the story of Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria, who tanked out of his qualifying heat in the 800m in order to conserve his energy for the 1500m final, a stunt that got him kicked out of the Olympics altogether. Makhloufi was later reinstated when he obtained a doctor's note claiming that his performance in the 800m was due to a "knee injury."
Well, that knee seems to have recovered dandily, because Makhloufi just took gold in the 1500m final. The knee injury excuse was obviously bogus, but it's hard to be mad at Makhloufi for doing what he did. He had a much better chance at winning the 1500m, and he knew that he was going to need all the strength he could muster in order to do so. His move may be reprehensible to some (prickish) people, but not to me. He got the gold he wanted, and his tanking didn't adversely effect any of the other runners who were competing. His crime was as victimless as it gets. I suppose the spectators who showed up to watch his heat have some room to complain, but anyone expecting riveting athletic competition from a qualifying heat is dumb.
So, to sum up, if you want to be an Olympic gold medalist, don't go around giving your all like some kind of square. And be sure to smoke plenty of weed. And get laid once in a while, too.